


Misfortune

by mrloveache



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-21 07:47:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19998400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrloveache/pseuds/mrloveache
Summary: A series of misfortunes allows Perianth & Beloved to move further with their relationship.





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Another work written for my v good friend !
> 
> Hope everyone likes it.  
> I listened to the Goblin OST the whole time I was writing this (even tho I'm really not into K-drama & prefer C-drama... The music is undeniably good).

It was that kind of day.

The kind that made you want to either tear your eyelashes out, slap a bitch with a chair, or set fire to your neighbor’s lawn.

Or do all three.

It had initially started out like any other regular day for Peri.

He had been woken by his private alarm, which consisted of Beloved running his fingers through Peri’s hair and poking his cheeks until he sat up grumpily.

“I said five more minutes, piss off…” Peri groaned.

He tried to yank the covers over his head, forgetting that he had thrown them to the ground during the night. He ended up grabbing at thin air instead and punching himself in the face.

Great.

“Your five minutes means one hour,” laughed Beloved, still poking Peri’s cheeks mercilessly.

It was only after a full minute of cheek abuse that Peri yielded, dragging himself out of bed, only to crash to the ground and curl up on his discarded sheets.

He let Beloved haul him up and carry him to the bathroom. Once he was set down on the counter, his head lolled forward onto Beloved's shoulder. 

The older man sighed softly as he traced the outline of Peri's shoulder. "You're making it really hard for me to let you go." 

Beloved had made him Turkish coffee the way he liked it.

Black, no sugar.

It was how his family, and possibly their ancestors from the Stone Age, always drank it.

The taste was so horribly bitter, but Peri seemed to be ok with it. One sip had been enough for Beloved to decide he never wanted to drink something so foul ever again in his life. It made him realize that Peri really was tough as nails to stomach it. 

Drinking the coffee wasn't even a matter of courtesy in the Fleuret family. They _really_ loved that stuff, since they drank multiple cups several times a day... 

Peri had hopped in and out of the shower in 10 minutes, then gotten dressed in the outfit he planned the night before.

An oversized black t-shirt, slim-leg black slacks, and his Docs.

Minimal.

He didn’t have the patience to buy colorful clothes and try to match each piece with the next, so he stuck with the basics. That was why, on laundry day, when Deokhwa opened Peri’s side of the wardrobe, he was met with a neat row of clothes in shades of black, white, more black, and maybe a little gray.

Peri closed his eyes for a moment as he let Beloved fasten a belt around his waist. He was so close to falling asleep again and Beloved noticed it from the way he was swaying around. 

“All done,” Beloved smiled, stepping back to survey his work.

Apart from his slouching shoulders and comatose expression, Peri looked ready for the day.

He yelled goodbye to Beloved as he darted out of the apartment with a piece of toast in his mouth, trying to fix his gun harness into place and press the elevator button at the same time.

There was no discernible sound coming from Levi’s apartment, so Peri assumed that his friend was already at the bureau.

The moment he reached the parking lot, he realized he had forgotten to put his earring in.

But there wasn’t any time to go back for it.

Well, blow it.


	2. The first misfortune - Wrecked car

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penguins...

The first misfortune of the day started when a car collided into the back of Peri’s Audi at seven in the morning. It promptly sent him crashing straight into the car in front, who shouted abuse at Peri.

“How about you scream at the asshole behind me instead? He screwed my car first!” Peri yelled back.

Like a row of dominos, each car received a violent force to its rear and rammed into the vehicle in front of it.

Naturally, Peri cursed at the person behind him with as much enthusiasm as he could muster at such an early hour. (which is prolly a lot of enthusiasm...)

The offender apologized multiple times and promised Peri he would pay for the damage.

“Kiss your license goodbye, buddy.” Peri told him as he tried (but failed) to stifle a yawn. “Fuck paying for the physical damage, it’s the sentimental value that matters.”

After he handed over his keys and made sure his car would be taken care of, Peri called Rowen to pick him up.

“I already reached the bureau.” Rowen stated drily.

“Well, sucks for you, but I haven’t,” Peri replied, with equal dryness. “Do me a favor, Rowe. Some idiot fucked up my car and you’re my only choice.”

“Why don’t you call Levi instead?” asked Rowen.

“If you’d like to see him and I headlining tomorrow’s paper, then sure, let me get Levi on the line,” Peri deadpanned as he rolled his eyes. “You’ll have a hell of a nice time cutting up our corpses to file your autopsy.”

Rowen terminated the call without another word, and soon enough, Peri found an ancient Citroën 2CV coming to a halt in front of him.

Rowen rolled down the window and glared at his friend with unmasked annoyance.

Peri stared straight back with his bulbous eyes, refusing to blink or break contact until Rowen did. 

Their staring competition lasted for a full five minutes before Rowen had to blink. Peri pumped his fist, pleased with his childish victory. 

“Get in.”

“I owe you one, Rowe!” laughed Peri. He hurried into the passenger seat, and slammed the door loudly behind him.

“Please hold back your strength and spare my car as well,” Rowen sighed. “They don’t sell parts for it anymore in this age.”

The Citroën initially belonged to Rowen’s great-great-great grandfather (or the one before him), so it was practically an antique heirloom. It was one of the first releases from the end of the 1940s, which Rowen’s great-great-great grandfather purchased years after World War II ended.

Rowen loved and took care of the car as if it was his own child, never letting anyone ( ~~ **especially Peri**~~ ) drive it.

Before they took off, Rowen reached into the glove compartment and presented Peri with a tin of cookies and a pair of black-framed glasses.

“Thanks Rowe, but I don’t think my eyesight is that bad yet.” Peri remarked in confusion.

“They’re Levi’s. He forgot them at my apartment last night,” Rowen explained. “The cookies are for you.”

“Sweet!” Peri ripped into the tin and proceeded to stuff two entire cookies into his mouth. They were soft and chewy, just the way he liked them. “You’re the best, Rowe! But, like… Why was Levi at your place last night?”

Peri cocked his eyebrows in a mischievous way, giving Rowen a meaningful look.

The other man drove in silence, but the slightest trace of a blush filled his cheeks.

“Ah, I get it. You guys had a little ppp session, huh?” Peri cracked up laughing and nearly choked on his cookie in the process.

“If you must know,” Rowen interrupted hotly. “We were watching National Geographic.”

Peri’s mouth gaped open in shock, showering Rowen’s car with chocolate chip crumbs. “National Geographic. Right. And this idiot right here totally believes you.”

“I have no reason to lie. They had a feature on penguins and Levi wanted to watch it with me.“ insisted Rowen.

“Penguins…” Peri mused quietly while he helped himself to a fourth cookie. “Penguins, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, I really really like cars... Vintage & modern.  
> I always go to my good friend in Japan who gives me recs, cuz he works in the car industry & is as much of a car nerd as I am. 
> 
> Note (?):  
> \- ppp = papapa... you know, like... sex. Ye.


	3. The second misfortune - Red alert

The second misfortune came when Peri walked into the station, only to be greeted by chaos.

Red lights were flashing and a siren blared deafeningly in the background.

Amidst the chaos was Levi, sitting on a stack of books on top of his desk. His MacBook was balanced on his knees and his eyes were glued to the screen. He tapped at the keys furiously, a crease forming between his brows.

“I don’t get it…” Levi muttered under his breath. He smacked a few more keys with impatience. “Can someone please do something about this noise? I keep typing the wrong codes!”

“Blinking hell…” Peri murmured.

He waded through the sea of panicked people and tossed papers to get to his friend, knocking over a potted plant on his way. “Levi! What the fuck is going on?”

Levi looked up when he heard Peri’s voice and a grin lit up his troubled face.

“Boss, you’re here!” Levi called. He waved so enthusiastically, he nearly toppled off his makeshift stool. “Well, the system kinda farted.”

“Oh, the system farted.” Peri repeated matter-of-factly. “Could you use easy English, Levi, I’m a bit old.”

Levi laughed heartily, completely unperturbed by his friend’s sarcasm. He was already used to Peri’s dark humor and satire. “It crashed this morning. That’s why the station’s on red alert.”

“So we’ve been breached?” Peri asked sharply. If there was a breach, then they were in deep doodoo. The case files they stored on the station’s cloud were extremely confidential and would bring ruin if they were leaked.

“No, no!” Levi quickly replied. He waved his hands frantically to assure Peri. “Nothing’s been hacked into. The system probably just needs updating, so it’s under maintenance now. But I can’t seem to figure out the algorithm.”

Peri nodded in response. Before he settled himself on his friend's desk, he pulled the glasses out of his pocket.

“Here,” he said. He handed them to Levi who stared at them in confusion. “Rowe said you left them at his place when you were watching penguins.”

Peri had to hide his smile behind his hand, but Levi was completely oblivious.

“Oh! I was wondering where I put them!” He laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

“Levi, were you really watching penguins with Rowe?”

“Yeah! Yesterday’s feature was about emperor penguins!” Levi’s entire face glowed with genuine excitement when he talked about it. There were sparkles in his emerald green eyes. “Anyways, thanks for bringing them! Maybe I can figure out this freaking algorithm now…”

“Take your time, then. The case files I need are in my office anyways, so it won’t affect my work today.” Peri told him assuredly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Blinking hell” is prolly Peri's favorite thing to say. And mine too tbh...


	4. The third misfortune - Shredded files

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peri's luck is really rotten...

The third misfortune hit Peri when he entered his office to find his desk swept clean.

His ashtray had been emptied and his stationary tidied into a cup.

The overturned trash can had now been straightened back into position.

The most worrying thing, though, was that his case files were missing.

He ransacked his drawers, creating a new mess in his mad attempt to find them.

But he came up empty-handed.

“Impossible…” He muttered to himself. He was 100% certain he had left the files on his desk yesterday.

The only reason he remembered so vividly was because he’d marked the top one with a green sharpie that had ended up exploding all over his hands, and onto the surface of his desk.

So where was the file now?

Was his luck so horrible today that he’d even lost his eyesight?

He called for one of his subordinates to come to the office.

After a few questions, Peri was informed that the staff who had cleaned his desk had dumped all the papers into a shredder.

A vein throbbed in Peri’s forehead and his eyebrow twitched.

“Is this a joke? Because I’m not laughing.” He asked his subordinate. “At least not on the outside.”

He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible, but the question ended up as a growl.

The man flinched and nearly squeaked in fear when he shook his head in reply.

Peri collapsed into his chair, his hands moving up to rub his temples. He must have angered a particularly malevolent god today to earn so much misfortune in the span of a few hours.

“For the love of fuck… Get out, before I castrate myself.”

Peri ordered his subordinate to fetch him another copy of the files, then waved him out of the room.

While he waited, he sat muttering to himself about their incompetence. “One job… They literally have one job.”

A different subordinate came back to Peri’s office a half hour later, his knees visibly shaking. “Uh, boss…”

“Grace me.”

“Boss, the system’s down, right? We can’t access the files you want, so we can’t print a new copy.”

Peri nearly flung his ashtray at the man’s head.

“Blow it then.” Peri sighed. “I’m going out for a smoke.”


	5. The fourth misfortune - Tumble

The fourth misfortune happened when Peri missed a step on his way outside and slid down an entire flight of stairs.

He didn’t even try to grab onto something, but sighed and let gravity do its job.

After he landed painfully on his butt, an entire string of Arabic curse words exploded from between his lips.

Beloved was going to have a field day when he saw the bruise on Peri’s butt. He’d probably say something shameless, like “only I have permission to do that” and Peri would high kick him into next week.

His hip was smarting and his knees were scraped and he’d really had enough bad luck today.

A passing officer hurried over to help Peri, but he shooed him away impatiently.

He tried to look at it from the bright side. At least he’d gotten down the stairs faster.

Despite that, he made it outside without any more mishaps.

With a cigarette balanced between his lips, he reached for his phone to check his notifications. 

Peri inhaled deeply, and pulled the cigarette back for a moment to blow the smoke out of his mouth, while he scrolled through unread emails.

A text from Beloved suddenly popped up on his screen and he opened it without thinking.

**> BELOVED:** The day feels so long without you

(✿ ♥ ‿ ♥)

The text was followed by several more that pinged annoyingly, one after the other.

**> BELOVED:** How’s your day so far?  
**> BELOVED:** I finished doing a checkup on the cutest toddler ≧◡≦ makes me want to have a kid...  
**> BELOVED:** Text me soon~ This old man is lonely ❤︎ ❤︎ 

Peri rolled his eyes at the excess hearts and emojis that Beloved always sent with his texts.

Leaning lazily against the balcony railing, he found himself grinning.

There was no way he would admit that he actually liked it when Beloved texted him. It made the long hours of the day a bit more bearable, especially when he had to work way past midnight.

He took a long drag on his cigarette, then set to work composing his replies.

**> PERI:** It’s chaotic at the station.  
**> PERI:** Red alert. System down. Levi’s panicking.  
**> PERI:** I fell down the stairs.

Peri hit his palm against his forehead, feeling like an idiot. He’d sent the text without really thinking. Now Beloved was going to lose his shit.

**> PERI:** Fuck I shouldn’t have sent that.  
**> PERI**: Dumbass subordinates shredded my files so it’s hella boring.

His fingers hovered over the emoji button, but he quickly shook his head and forgot about it.

Emojis weren’t Peri’s thing. They seemed way too fake for his taste.

He didn’t want the conversation to sound dead on his end, so he quickly sent one final text before he stubbed out his cigarette.

**> PERI**: :)

Beloved’s replies flooded the screen in a matter of seconds, each sounding more urgent than the next.

**> BELOVED:** You fell?????? (◯Δ◯∥)  
**> BELOVED**: Babe are you alright?? ｡ﾟ･（>﹏<）･ﾟ｡ Should I come over??

**> BELOVED**: I can step out for a few minutes if you’re in pain.

Peri rolled his eyes again. Leave it to Beloved to dramatize the whole thing.

In reality, the older man just wanted an excuse to see his favorite person in the whole world. 

Before he went back inside, Peri sent his final texts.

**> PERI:** Piss off. I’m fine.  
**> PERI:** And don’t call me babe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cursing in Arabic is hella fun... You can get really creative ^ ^  
> I should prolly elaborate why Peri knows Arabic in the first place, but I'll leave that for another time.


	6. A much needed break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is meant to give Peri a break after all that shit...  
> Levi’s back too!

Peri returned to his office to find that Levi had let himself in and was sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Two different MacBooks were laid out in front of him. He used one hand to type on each one at once.

Peri had to secretly praise his friend’s ambidexterity. He didn’t know anyone who could use two laptops at once, while shoving pistachios into his mouth at the same time.

Levi snapped back to reality when he heard Peri call his name.

“The hell are you doing?” asked Peri, as he settled himself next to the red-head.

“Still trying to revive the system,” Levi sighed. “You can prolly tell it’s not going so well…”

Levi offered the bag of pistachios to Peri, who gladly took a handful and nodded his thanks. 

The pair sat in silence, the only sound in the room being the cracking of pistachio shells. 

A series of cryptic sentences that looked like complete gibberish flashed up on one of the screens. It broke the silence, making Levi groan loudly.

“I’ve tried a bazillion different commands, restarted everything, installed the latest version… Nothing’s working!” He whined, sounding very close to crying. "Fuck me, I should just resign..."

“Who’s gonna piss me off if you leave? I think you should just take a break for now.” suggested Peri.

The ground had looked so inviting that Peri subconsciously stretched out, crossing his arms behind his head.

Ah, what he wouldn't give for a nap right now.

“I would if I could, but I heard your minions fed all your files to the shredder last night.” Levi giggled like a child. There was no malice in his words, yet Peri still felt like reaching out to whack him across the head.

“You’d think they know by now to leave my files in peace…”

Since his first day at the bureau, Peri had established a “don’t touch my shit” policy. He also made sure to communicate it to all his subordinates in the simplest terms he could think of. 

In retrospect, it had been useless to waste his time repeating the policy when no one actually listened.

“I’ll make you an alarm system. That way if anyone touches your stuff, it’ll activate red alert in your house!” Levi declared, eyes sparkling.

The light in his eyes quickly died down when Peri finally actually bonked his head.

“Focus on the system and leave my house alone thanks,” Peri snapped. “You playing death metal at four in the morning is enough.”

The strength of Levi’s laughter forced him to fall onto his back, his legs flying into the air. One of the laptops was kicked into the wall, but Levi was still rolling around laughing to notice.

“I haven’t played any music since you threatened to kick down my door and break my stereo set!” Levi insisted.

And that was the truth.

Three Days Grace had just started with “Riot” when Peri had practically flown into the corridor of the apartment complex and hammered at Levi’s door with his grandfather's antique cane. 

It was a miracle that Levi heard him over the ear-splitting chaos. Then again, the entire building had heard Peri’s “ soft knocks” and “polite words”.

Levi’s musical laughter echoed throughout Peri’s office, bouncing off the walls and carrying out into the hall.

Everyone from their floor could hear Levi’s shrieks of delight, as well as his coughs of pain.

He rolled closer to Peri and the two laid there, staring at the ceiling. The red-head was still laughing with all his heart, the pink-head scowling (and trying to control himself from bursting into laughter as well).

“Ah man, that felt good…” Levi sighed, wiping tears of joy from his eyes. A hiccup sounded from between his lips, promptly sending him into another fit of laughter.

The more he hiccuped, the more he laughed and pretty soon even Peri couldn’t hold himself back from cracking up.

“Christ, Levi, you laugh at the dumbest shit…” Peri managed to say through his laughter.

“Laugh my friend! It’s good for your health!” Levi sighed.

His emerald eyes rolled up to the ceiling as he took deep breaths to calm himself down. They landed on a spot that looked suspiciously like a blood stain.

“Hey boss… Is that blood on the ceiling?”

Peri followed Levi’s finger to where he was pointing at a distinct red spot on the otherwise pristine ceiling.

“Oh.” Peri bit his lower lip, feeling another wave of laughter rumbling through his body. “Nah, that’s ink. I did that on my first day, fooling around with the general’s expensive fountain pen. When he came in, I panicked and just chucked it upwards.”

“What the fuck?” Levi spluttered. “Up? At least throw it into a trash can or something!”

“Like I said, I panicked. The pen hit the ceiling and the nib cracked, then it came down spraying red everywhere,” Peri’s eyes glittered with mischief as he recalled the scene. “If anyone walked in, they would have thought we’d just murdered someone.”

”And he _didn’t_ fire you?”

”Nope. Said I have a nice ass, so he’d cut me some slack.”

The pair stared at one another silently. Levi’s lips trembled violently, while Peri bit down hard on the inside of his cheeks.

Barely a second passed before they both exploded into another fit of laughter. They clutched their stomachs in an attempt to ease their pain. 

“You sure you didn’t really murder someone and make up a story?” Levi asked, as pounded his fist into the ground hysterically.

“Who knows...?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the friendship between Perianth & Leviathan...  
> It reminds me of my own friends, laughing at the most meaningless crap, talking without reserve, not needing a filter, not needing to tiptoe around each other... 
> 
> It's the kind of friendship I cherish & I hope to always have ;-;


	7. Sandwich-less

By the time Levi stopped laughing and went back to his own office to work on the system, it was already dark outside.

Peri took a peek at his wristwatch.

6 PM.

It was still too early to go home.

However, with his files in pieces and the system on KO, there was nothing to do at the station except be idle.

There were a few old cases that he could take a look through. They had been archived years before Peri joined the bureau of investigation, but none of them had been solved.

Only one of them involved murder, while the others were trivial cases like theft or vandalism.

Peri mulled it over in his mind for a few minutes.

He could sift through the old files and kill some time. Or he could text Beloved to ask when he could pick him up.

Apart from the time he spent with Levi, his day had been pretty lousy.

Crashed car, system failure, shredded files, a tumble down the stairs…

It seemed like the god of misfortune was really out to get Peri.

Going home to soak in a bath and perhaps eat a bowl of Beloved’s corn soup sounded like heaven.

Finally, Peri made his decision without any further thought.

“Shoot…” he muttered when he pulled out his phone.

The battery was at 5% and Peri didn’t have a charger on him. He had to be quick.

 **> PERI:** Can you pick me up? Car’s at the garage.

Beloved’s reply came in a matter of seconds.

 **> BELOVED:** Did you have an accident???? (╬◣д◢)!!

“Oh blinking hell…”

Peri had promptly forgotten that Beloved was unaware of the accident.

 **> PERI:** Ye some asshole ran into the back of the car.

 **> BELOVED:** Was it serious? Are you hurt? ｡ﾟ･（>﹏<）･ﾟ｡

 **> PERI:** If I was, would I be texting you now? T_T

 **> BELOVED: **True…  
**> BELOVED: **My last appointment’s at 7:30.  
**> BELOVED:** It shouldn’t take too long. I’ll pick you up at 8:00-8:15.

 **> PERI:** I’ll meet you at the bus station. See you.

 **> BELOVED: **See you my love ( ˘ ³˘) ❤

At 7:45, Peri made his way out of the station.

He said goodbye to Levi (who was working overtime to fix the system), then headed out in the hopes of passing by the convenience store to pick up a sandwich.

The old lady at the counter greeted Peri with a warm smile on her wrinkled face. She told him to take his time and ask if he needed anything.

There was a promotion on steak pies, she mentioned. If he purchased two, she’d give him three mini cream puffs for free.

Peri turned her down, since he couldn’t finish all that food by himself. He thought of saving it for Beloved, but what was the point if it went cold?

Besides, he honestly wasn’t a big fan of steak.

Chicken was his one true love (apart from Beloved), particularly if it was fried. 

The old lady was always especially nice to him since he’d been coming to her store for quite a while. In fact, it was ever since he started working at the bureau a few years back. (Said he reminded her of her own grandson).

The sandwich display was quite expansive, showcasing colorfully packaged triangles stuffed with delicious fillings.

There were the regular ones, such as tuna mayo and cheese n ham. 

Some of the other fillings were quite unique, like strawberries and cream.

Peri indeed took his time browsing the sandwiches on sale, wondering if he wanted an ogura butter or a chicken avocado.

In the end, he settled on the ogura butter along with a beer to wash it down.

Once he got to the counter, he reached into his pocket for his wallet, but found it empty. He directly tried the other pocket, which turned out empty as well.

“Shit…”

Peri searched all his pockets thoroughly, making sure to reach his fingers down to the very bottom.

Still, there was no wallet.

In his rush, he must have left it at home that morning.

The old lady tried to persuade him to just take the items and go, saying she’d put them on his tab, but Peri declined her offer.

He never felt right when he bought on tab.

At the end, he left the store empty-handed, with a rumbling stomach and an even gloomier mood.

That ogura butter toast had looked so tempting…

He cursed his luck even more when he picked up his phone and found the battery dead.

“Great…” he sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ogura butter toast is so fucking good, everyone should try it.  
> It's really easy to make at home, you just need toast, butter, and a can of sweet red bean paste (unless you know how to make your own 红豆沙)


	8. Sun parting the clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I suppose things start to look up for Perianth here.  
> Let's be real, he needs it.

With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, Peri walked to the bus station near the bureau’s building, his hands rammed deep into his empty pockets.

Luckily there was no one else there, so he sat down on the bench and lit a cigarette.

The moment he took his first puff, he felt something wet fall onto his nose.

He raised his head up, confused, only to be met with a showering of raindrops to the face.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, it was raining now.

And Peri didn’t have an umbrella.

Because no one carried an umbrella around on sunny days.

The god of misfortune had really gone and done it now.

In a rage, Peri flung his cigarette to the ground. He stamped on it multiple times with his Docs, his eyebrows furrowing deeply in irritation.

“Stupid. Fucking. Weather.” He enunciated with each stamp of his boots. “Stupid. Fucking. Day.”

The light shower soon transformed into something that resembled a gentle torrential downpour.

It was as if the sky had decided to open up and empty its entire watery contents onto his face.

Peri was so drenched, he almost resembled a drowned rat. 

Locks of cotton-candy pink hair were plastered to his forehead and his clothes stuck uncomfortably to his body, sending shivers up and down his skin.

He could have taken shelter under the awning of some shop, but with no phone and no way of knowing where Beloved was, he could only stay at the bus station just like he promised.

Anger wasn’t the best word to describe Peri’s emotions right now.

He was beyond outraged.

How could so many misfortunes happen to him in one day?

Maybe he was being dramatic...?

His chest rose and dropped unsteadily as he tried his best to remain calm. The look on his face made it evident that he was _this_ close to slapping a bitch if he had the chance to. If anyone had passed by him at that very moment, it was more than likely that he would have landed a punch to their face. 

Peri secretly hoped an unfortunate civilian would pass by, because someone's nose had to be broken.

“If I ever get an audience with the god of back luck…” Peri seethed to himself in silence. “I’m going to string them up by the ankles and beat them like a fucking piñata!”

What he really wanted, however, was Beloved.

More than anything, he wanted Beloved to appear, like the sun parting the clouds after a rainstorm, and embrace him with every muscle in his body.

Peri wanted his nostrils to be overwhelmed with the scent of Beloved’s delicate sandalwood.

Now that the cold was starting to creep in, he longed for an umbrella so badly. Or a warm sweater.

It wouldn’t help his lousy mood if he ended up catching a bug from being out in the rain.

With a resigned sigh, Peri flopped back onto the bench and surrendered to the rain, letting it hammer down onto him.

The first thing he vowed to do the minute he got home was to take a nice, long soak in the bathtub.

It was possible that he might have dozed off, because it wasn’t long before he found himself in the embrace of someone dry and solid and oh so warm.

Arms clad in scratchy beige wool reached out to encircle his shoulders like a citadel.

The rain halted as the shade of an umbrella moved to cover Peri’s body. It pattered down onto the fabric in a lulling melody.

“I’m late, aren’t I?” Beloved’s voice was like luscious velvet, like music to the ears.

“Damn straight you are!” Peri snapped, pounding his fists against Beloved’s chest.

“You’ll have to forgive me. I got held up trying to find an umbrella before I left the clinic.”

Beloved transferred the umbrella handle to Peri and presented him with a magnificent bouquet of gentians, glowing vividly. Each petal was dotted with fresh dewdrops, while the smell that emanated from them was heavenly.

“I also passed by the florist to pick this up,” Beloved smiled. He took off his Acne Studios coat and lovingly draped it over Peri’s shoulders, pulling it snuggly around the younger man’s wet and shaking body.

“Shall we-“

Peri didn’t let Beloved continue.

He shoved the handle of the umbrella back into the older man’s hand. Then, throwing shame out the window, he stood on the tips of his toes and pressed his lips against Beloved’s.

Peri leaned heavily onto Beloved’s chest as he deepened the kiss, making the older man stagger and take a few steps back.

The arm holding the bouquet moved in time to save the flowers from getting crushed.

A muffled gasp of surprise came from Beloved’s mouth when he recovered his senses.

Yet he didn’t pull away.

He would have never dreamed of pulling away.

This moment…

He had waited for it patiently, fantasized about it when he lay sleepless in bed.

Now that it was happening in real life, however, he was too surprised to react accordingly. 


	9. Bisou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bisou means "kiss" in French.  
> It's a really cute word ^ ^

Time halted and the raindrops froze in the air as the pair swayed together, their lips refusing to separate even for a second.

Beloved’s free arm looped around Peri’s waist to draw the younger man as close as possible to him. He didn’t want to leave room for even a dust particle to pass between them.

Every part of Peri’s body fit perfectly into his own, like two halves of a seal that finally found themselves after centuries of being apart. 

Just like Peri had longed for, he felt Beloved hug him with every single muscle, every single cell in his body.

But the real thing felt so much better than the languid daydream. 

“Open…” Peri whispered when he pulled back to take a breath. “Open your mouth.”

If Peri had asked him for the stars in the sky, Beloved would not have refused. 

Never.

His lustrous lips parted, like a freshly split fig, and Peri wasted no time in moving forward.

Their tongues locked together, each one fighting for dominance over the other, resembling a swirling dance of flesh.

Peri eventually won, but only because Beloved was in a state of shock, tremors climbing up the column of his spine. 

His tongue explored Beloved's wet cavern, moving to rub expertly against the roof of his mouth. 

The movement made Beloved go weak in the knees. In the heat of the moment, he let out an embarrassingly undignified moan. 

He never knew Peri could be so... Intense.

They breathed deeply into each other’s mouths, Beloved tasting tobacco, Peri tasting peppermint.

Their teeth clicked together accidentally, but Beloved only laughed it off as he moved back to breathe. 

An adorable flush had crept into Peri's cheeks, which matched his hair perfectly. He was breathing deeply, his cherry-colored lips separated. 

Just looking at those lips, wet with saliva, ignited a fire in Beloved's chest. That fire was now inching deeper down his body. 

He wanted more, but how much further would Peri let him go?

“Car…” he murmured. 

Without another word, he scooped Peri into his arms and ran with him under the rain.

Their laughter filled the empty streets.

The pair settled into the backseat of the Maserati, Peri in Beloved’s lap, his knees straddling the sides of Beloved’s hips. 

Their lips remained locked as time passed by outside the windows of the car. 

It was a sweet exchange, though, nothing like the passionate first kiss they had shared outside. 

The warm, soft weight of Peri’s body over his own felt right to Beloved. So right, in fact, that his hands unconsciously slid over Peri’s thighs.

He caressed them gently, kneading the firm flesh between his fingertips. Slowly, his hands moved from Peri's milky white ankles to his knees, and back down, savoring the touch of skin.

“Don’t.” Peri’s voice was hoarse but firm. The look in his eyes clearly told Beloved to focus on the kiss and save the touching for another time.

"Even here?" Beloved breathed, a seductive smirk on his face. 

Peri let out a soft scream when Beloved's slim fingers gripped his buttocks. He winced in pain, letting his breath out through his clenched teeth. 

"Especially not there... I told you I fell. My ass is bruised all over so quit grabbing it!" 

“I can’t help it.” Beloved’s voice came out in a whine. “I want to touch every part of you.”

The desperation made Peri’s heart flutter.

He was so close to giving in and letting Beloved have his way until he felt the older man’s fingers climb further up.

“You’d better not or I’ll break your fingers.” Peri’s tone was threatening, but his eyes were soft, making it hard to take him seriously. 

“I won’t,” Beloved promised. “I’m surprised you even let me kiss you.”

“Hey, I kissed you first!” Peri reminded him, eyebrows knitting in annoyance. 

“And that was, quite possibly, the most shocking moment of my whole life…” Beloved admitted. 

Peri shrugged his shoulders, leaning back to brush his bangs out of his eyes. “I guess… Desperate times really do call for desperate measures.”

“Desperate times?” Beloved echoed. 

“I had a shitty day. Your lips looked nice so I kinda just went for it.” There was a proud grin on Peri’s flushed face. “I knew you wouldn’t expect it.” 

“I’m still in disbelief, actually,” Beloved teased, tapping Peri’s nose. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?”

“Prolly ages.” Peri teased back. “I thought you would be the one to kiss me first.”

Beloved’s eyes shifted to the side, and for the first time in years, a dusty shade of pink flooded into his cheeks. “I didn’t want to force you.”

“I would have just punched you if I didn’t like it.” Peri rolled his eyes.

The two shared a few more soft pecks while the rain began to let up outside.

There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky anymore, so the moonlight shone clearly through the car windows, making Beloved's skin seem more like a solid piece of jade than ever before. 

It was almost 9 PM when they decided they should head back home before Deokhwa had a seizure. 

“Will I get a fine for parking here?” Beloved wondered aloud. He nervously glanced at the “no parking” sign near the bus station.

“Fine?” Peri repeated as if hearing the word for the first time. “You forgot that the idiots who patrol the streets and give fines work for me. So unless they wanna lose their jobs, they’ll pretend they never saw the car.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we have it.  
> Perianth & Beloved's first kiss.
> 
> I might re-write & change it in the future if I figure out something better. But for now, I'm happy with this.


End file.
